


Crisis on Infinite Earths: Hands of Time

by Razzy_Loveless



Series: The Multiverse Series (SUPERCORP EDITION) [2]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Crisis On Earth-X Crossover Event (CW DC TV Universe), F/F, Kara Danvers Doesn't Know that Lena Luthor Knows, Lena Luthor Knows Kara Danvers Is Supergirl
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-10 00:35:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18927700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Razzy_Loveless/pseuds/Razzy_Loveless
Summary: Supergirl could never fly fast enough to turn back the hands of time, not without the help of a Legion Ring.Then Kara Zor-El once more lost everything.ORCrisis on Infinite Earths changes everything between Supergirl and Lena Luthor.





	Crisis on Infinite Earths: Hands of Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: I am aware that I was supposed to be writing my Injustice!Supergirl fanfic next as promised, but I have had a bit of a writer's block on that and am still trying to plan it out so it is good, but I kind of just HAD to write something about Supercorp after that Season Four finale reveal so this fanfic is priority at the moment.**

Kara Zor-El once more finds herself waking up in a pool of sweat and with the distant voice of Lex Luthor still ringing in her ears. It has been nearly two months since the final battle between Lex Luthor and Supergirl, and the state of the country is still reeling from the division which Lex had stirred up, but all Kara can remember is how it felt to be near Lex. She remembers _everything_ that Red Daughter remembered, or rather Linda Lee. When Red Daughter became a part of her, she became so in more ways than one. The memories are, but most of all, the memories leaves her feeling disgusted as Kara finds herself remembering what it is like to trust Lex Luthor, to love Lex Luthor.

Only one person in this world who Kara trusts knows what that is like, and that person is none other than Lena Luthor.

Kara goes to pick up her phone and taps the ON button. The lock screen reads 2:36 a.m., and Kara simply sighs before tapping the ON button once more, causing the screen to go back to black. There is no point in trying to explain to Lena of all people her conflict right now, not when Lena does not know the truth, and even if Lena knew the truth about who Kara was, about her being Supergirl, Lena does not have time for her at 2:36 in the morning. It seems as of lately that Lena especially does not time for her anymore at all.

Ever since the Lex was defeated, Lena has been more closed-off and busier than as ever. It has been nearly a month since Kara has last had contact with her best friend, and try as she might, Lena has simply brushed her off every time Kara attempts to speak with her. Sometimes, Lena brushes her off through not replying to her texts or by simply telling her secretary to let " _Miss Danvers know that I am busy_ " as Kara once overheard her saying. 

Kara reckons that having to deal with her family, especially on such a public and worldwide level, has left Lena more affected than she has let on. However, Kara cannot help but wonder if maybe it was something she did. Lena had once told her that it seemed like all Kara cared about at times was a good quote. Of course, Lena had apologized for saying that, yet Kara can still not help but wonder if maybe Lena thinks that is all she wanted. Kara wonders if Lena thinks that she simply wanted to expose Lex and exploit Lena in the process in order to win the Pulitzer Prize that everyone in the media thinks she should have.

Regardless, Kara can only wonder seeing as Lena refuses to see her or even tell her what is that has the CEO so wound up.

Then again, maybe Lena simply needs space to deal with everything. Kara knows that is how she needed to deal with Mon-El's departure after the first few months, so how can she judge Lena for maybe needing to do the same after being torment by Lex and having their family surname dirty by him even further?

Even more so, Kara knows more than anyone else in Lena's life just how badly Lex can screw with a person.

Kara sighs and looks up at the ceiling. She lets her thoughts venture off to something more calming. Her vision moves past the plaster ceiling of her apartment and through her upstairs neighbors apartment. It carries past city lights and past clouds until it somewhere lost in the starry night of space, and finally, Kara settles her vision on a distant bright red sun that still burns after all this time.

Right before she is lulled away by sleep, Kara makes sure to thank Rao for still allowing her to see his sight.

* * *

_Her worst dreams always come back to this particular moments. Lex knew how to mold her into being better, or at least better by his standards. He knew that Linda was also a part of Kara, and that somethings were innate. Things like feelings for a sister whose name is the only thing left after all is lost. Things like fears left over from once losing all the things she, at one time, had only known._

_In these dreams, it was always the worse._

_"I will be better!" Linda - or rather Kara, she is not sure - cries out. "Don't leave me here!"_

_"You will be better." Lex calmly responds, turning on the red sun lights in the cell. "I will help you be better, but you have to trust me."_

_"I do trust you, Alex!" Linda cries out, but it does not stop him from shutting the cell door and locking it. "Please! Don't leave me here!"_

* * *

When she awakes the next morning, Kara is once more covered in sweet and a fine-tuned panic is still settled within her chest. Her heart races and only manages to calm after a few minutes. CATCO awaits her, though, and Kara has no time to continue think about Lex Luthor. Not when duty calls. Kara readies herself for work. Her lack of sleep still wears down on her seeing as her appearance is less than stellar. Nevertheless, Kara carries on to venture into this bright new day, and to her shock, Kara manages to catch a hold of Lena that afternoon. The CEO has made seldom appearances at CATCO since Lex's defeat, but this morning must be different, because Lena is speaking with some of the CATCO board members about stock prices and what-not - as Kara happens to overhear with her super senses.

Upon hearing Lena in the same building, Kara _happens_ to find herself outside the board room right around the time that Lena _happens_ to exit the meeting. She also _happens_ to super-speed up behind Lena who has yet to see her _happening_ to be in the same place at the same time.

"Hey!" Kara exclaims a bit too loudly right behind Lena. "Long time no see!"

The loud greeting is enough to visibly startle Lena, who drops some of the board meeting papers she had been carry. The papers scatter on the floor, and both women quickly attempt to pick them up.

"Jesus Christ!" Lena mutters, kneeling alongside Kara on the carpet floor. "You startled me!"

Kara taps the papers she has gathered into a nice straight bundle and hands them over to Lena.

"I was just-" Kara weakly gestures and stands up along with Lena. "I was just waiting for you is all. Heard you were here and wanted to see you?"

Lena purses her lips and nods, and Kara thinks that this meeting that simply _happened_ is not going the way she imagined it happening. After a long pause of silence, Lena speaks up.

"You look horrible." Lena bluntly states. Kara blinks at that, and Lena backtracking while actually looking somewhat mortified. "I didn't mean- I just meant. Have you not been sleeping or something?"

_Oh._

Kara realizes that maybe her appearance maybe she had been worked on more before she left her dingy, little apartment this morning.

"No." Kara manages a chuckle at that, wanting to ease some of her best friend's mortification. "I haven't been sleeping well to be honest."

"Why not?" Lena asks, eyebrows furrowed in concern "Is something wrong?"

Kara faintly realizes that this is the longest time in which Lena has held a conversation with her recently. She had technically wanted to speak to Lena about the CEO's life and not hers, but there a certain softness in the way which Lena asks her about something being " _wrong_ " that makes Kara open up the best she can.

"Memories, I guess." Kara replies, rubbing a hand on the nape of her neck. "I've just been remembering some things is all."

"Are they-" Lena hesitates for a brief moment. "Are they about your family?"

"I, uh," The question merely makes Kara uncomfortable, because while she could easily pretend it was about her dead family, Kara does not want to lie to Lena, so she settles on a vague yet honest response, "I've just been dreaming about people who weren't who I thought they were is all."

Despite it being honest, it appears that her confession was the wrong thing to say, because in that moment, Lena's eyes widen and her posture becomes rigid. Once more, the softness and friendliness that had been maintained during their current conversation vanishes. In its place is the same coldness and standoffish attitude that Lena has adopted over the past two months. 

"I've been losing sleep over that exact thing as well." Lena tensely reveals, holding her papers closer to her chest. "I also have to be going, so if you would excuse me."

Lena makes a move to walk away and manages to get a few feet away from her. Kara does not know exactly what caused this sudden change of atmosphere, but Kara does not want to leave things like this. She does not want to leave them like they have been left for the past two two months.

"Lena, wait!" Kara calls out, catching Lena's attention once more. "Can we- Can we hang out soon? I want to tell you about some stuff. Important stuff."

Lena turns to looks at her. There is a sort of conflicted expression gracing Lena's features, and Kara manages to hopefully think that _maybe_ Lena will say yes. It was wishful thinking at best, as Kara soon realizes when Lena declines with that ever impersonal response.

"I'm busy." Lena replies before turning away. "Check with my secretary."

Lena quickly leaves on that impersonal note, and Kara cannot help but feel once more that is something she did.

Kara had once told her sister, right after Lex had been defeated, that she was worried about Lena. After all this time, Kara has become more worried about Lena. She knows what it is like to be left alone while dealing with hurtful things. Despite having trouble accepting help herself, Kara knows that sometimes the only thing that can help a person carry on is the strength from others - others who one cares about and who cares about them.

That thought process brings back another unwanted memory all of a sudden.

* * *

_It has been three days since the red sun lamps incident. Linda - or rather Kara, once more she is not sure - has been on her best behavior. She does not want to disappoint "Alex" even if he put her through that horrible isolation. Something in her core makes her feel guilty at the thought of hurting "her Alex". She behavior spectacularly once she is released again._

_Lex is proud of her, and she is very pleased as is he._

_He rewards her with his favorite method, which is photos to fill up the walls in her rather lonely cell._

_"Here." Lex hands her a photo of Lena and herself. "You've been good, so I wanted to give you something."_

_"It's Lena." She looks over the photo. "Can I put it with the others?"_

_Lex stiffly nods and exits the cells. She looks back down at the photos. The photo does not do Lena Luthor justice. That is what she thinks. From the one time she met her, Lena seemed so much more than what the photo makes her out to be. She nonetheless cherishes it all the same._ _She picks up some scotch tape from the floor that Lex had given her and tapes the photo onto the wall. Red Daughter imagines that it is actually her in the photo and not the ungrateful Kara Danvers. When she imagines that, a soft feeling swells in her chest._

_She ends up running her fingers over the newly, tapped-up photo of Lena and-_

* * *

With a jerk of her head, Kara physically shakes away the memory. Memories like this disgust her more than the ones of Lex hurting her. It disgusts her that Lex used her innate feelings of love for those she cared about against Red Daughter. She hates the idea of Lex taking photos of her private life and interactions with her loved ones while all the while coming up with ways to torment her.

He did it with all of Kara Danvers loved ones, but he always knew how to use Lena the best seeing as Alex Danvers was not " _her Alex_ " to Red Daughter.

Lena Luthor, though, was always _her Lena_ during those moments.

With one last glance, Kara looks at Lena retreating from the CATCO hallway. A nagging voice tells her to reach out to Lena once more and push her to open up, but the more rational side of her realizes that she cannot make Lena Luthor do anything she does want to, so Kara leaves Lena be once more.

Another week comes and goes.

Another villain of the week is defeated.

Another game night comes and goes without Lena showing up.

Another memory of Red Daughter is pushed to the forefront of Kara's mind.

Life carries on relatively normally for the heroine of National City and for the regular ole journalist of CATCO.

One morning, though, things are shook up by the fabric of space and time ripping open in her cheap apartment. It is not out of the ordinary for such things to happen in her life, but it is _more_ than out of the ordinary for Barry Allen to show up in her apartment when she is only lounging in a bra and panties. A unintelligible screech gets caught in her throat as Kara covers herself with her hands, having momentarily forget that she too possesses super-speed, and for the fastest man alive, the Flash himself takes a bit _too_ long before turning away. 

"Oh my god!" Barry exclaims, finally covering his eyes and turning away. "I didn't mean to see _that_!"

Maybe Cat Grant was right when she deemed Barry's suggested superhero name on this Earth as being too suggestive. Gathering her wits, a red-faced Kara super-speeds into her superhero costume seeing as that is most likely why Barry has shown up on her Earth.

"I didn't mean for you to see _that_ either!" Kara huffs, covering her chest with her arms and feeling more than self-conscious. "Now what do you want?"

The red-ting to his cheeks fade, and Barry manages to quit sputtering long enough to answer her question.

"Well, the Multiverse is in danger!" Barry exclaims. "We need your help!"

"Isn't it always?" Kara quips, placing her hands on her hips to feel a bit more secure. "So what is it this time?"

"Well." Barry drawls. "A villain called the Anti-Monitor is trying to destroy the multiverse, but we actually need your help on something more dire."

"Wait!"  Kara stops him, a bit more concerned after hearing that explanation. "What is more dire than the Multiverse nearly being destroyed?"

"Lex Luthor." Barry bluntly states. "He is attacking the team and taking our focus away from Anti-Monitor. He claims he will only stop if Lena Luthor and you come to him."

Space and time ripping open in her apartment and a man faster than the speed of light stepping into her apartment through a portal is more believable to her than this. After all, Lex Luthor simply cannot be alive no matter what Barry Allen says. If that man was back, then it would mean that Lex Luthor will once more try to destroy her life once more.

Kara defeated him, though.

Supergirl _defeated_ him, and Lex Luthor is simply  _gone_.

"Lex Luthor is dead." Kara finally responds. "He is _dead_ , and you're mistaken."

"I'm not mistaken. I wish I was," Barry tells her, voice hinging on desperate, "but he is alive. The Monitor brought him back thinking he would help face off against the Anti-Monitor who is trying to destroy the Multiverse, but Lex only wants to face off against you and his sister! We need the two of you to stop him!"

Cold terror rushes through her as Kara realizes that Lex is back. Lex is back and is once more out to destroy her. More importantly, Lex is out for revenge not only against Supergirl but also against his dear sister Lena Luthor. Life and death be dammed, Kara thinks. There is no way that Kara will allow him to torment Lena again. Lex Luthor can have a go at her again but more certainly not at the ones she loves.

"No!" Kara declares. "I won't bring Lena into this! I won't risk her again!"

Barry regards her for a moment after her forceful declaration. Unwavering, Kara holds his gaze until Barry finally says something which makes her reconsider.

"You care for this Lena woman." Barry simply states. "I don't know this Lex guy that well, Kara, but I know one thing. I think you know it too. He will come for her no matter what you do, and it's better you be with her when he does."

His words call back a memory of Lex with Red Daughter, a memory of him speaking his true feelings about Lena to her.

* * *

_"Lena betrayed me." Lex tells her as they play chest in her cell. "She chose the alien scum over me. She will pay. I will make sure of that no matter the cost. Ah, checkmate!"_

_Linda does not respond, not wanting to voice her concerns for his sister as it surely would mean consequences for herself if she did so._

* * *

The memory is enough for Kara to accept the harsh reality. Barry Allen is right. It is best that Lena is by her side when Lex comes for them. It is better that Kara be able to protect her at the drop of a hat instead of being a universe away in Lena's time of need.

Better yet, it is better that Lena be by Supergirl's side in that moment.

"Fine." Kara bitterly caves. "Lena does not know I'm Supergirl, though. You tell all the other guys that if they let _that_ slip, I'll throw them into the sun myself!"

His expression turns a bit terrified, but Kara is certain she got the point across.

"Okay!" Barry pipes out, pulling out his portal-beacon device and pressing it. "I'll let them know, and you just come as quickly as you can!"

A portal once more opens up in her apartment, and Barry quickly steps through and leaves her alone finally.

Kara spares a glance in the mirror of her living room. She is in her super suit and ready to go. It takes only a moment for her to stand up straight and school her expression in the mirror.

In her place is no longer bubbly Kara Danvers.

Rather.

In her place is the Girl of Steel.

Upon arriving at L-Corp, Supergirl softly lands on the balcony of Lena's office. It is only a few seconds difference, but Supergirl wishes that she could prolong this conversation for even longer. The Multiverse is in danger, though, and duty calls, so Supergirl taps upon the balcony doors and draws the attention of Lena who had been sitting peacefully at her desk.

Lena looks over at her. Her expression goes from confused to hardened within the time it took for Supergirl to tap. It is sign that this conversation is not going to be the most pleasant as Supergirl had already expected.

"This is a very unexpected arrival." Lena tells Supergirl upon opening the door yet does not move for her to enter. "I would like to remind you that this is not an entrance."

"I know," Supergirl replies, "but I need your help."

It sounds like something between a sigh and scoff when Lena replies, and Supergirl realizes that once more this is not going to be a pleasant interaction.

"Of course." Lena replies, moving out the way for Supergirl to enter her office. "What is it this time then? Aliens invading? My family come back to haunt me?"

"The latter." Supergirl states. "Lex Luthor is alive."

Supergirl hones into the ticking of the second-hand on the office clock. It takes approximately ten clicks for Lena Luthor, wide-eyed and affected, to respond.

"Impossible." Lena finally replies. "I know for a fact Lex is _dead_."

Supergirl sighs and takes her hands off her hips, no longer in her iconic "super" pose. She slowly draws toward Lena, who rather folds her hands over her chest in a defensive stance. 

"Lex Luthor is alive, Lena. He is." Supergirl softly states, hoping to convey that she understands as well, that she knows how awful this is too. "A powerful being named the Monitor brought him back to life in hopes that he could help save the universes, but Lex has other plans. Plans for you and me."

Seven ticks of the second-hand on the clock pass. It takes another twelve-ticks as Lena pours herself a glass of scotch from the bottle sitting on her office counter. Six-ticks as Lena, with a spirited movement, downs three-fourths of the alcohol in the glass.

"Well." Lena thickly drawls and sets down her near-finished glass. "A simple google search would've told this Monitor fellow that Lex was a _horrible_ choice for Savior of the Universe."

"Monitor is-" Supergirl searches for the right world. "He's the type of being who understands that people will do anything to survive. He thought someone with a mind like Lex could be convinced to use it for good in the right circumstances."

"He was clearly wrong." Lena scoffs. "I'm certain of that."

"He was." Supergirl agrees. "The only thing Lex cares about now is destroying you and me. The universes be damned."

Lena thoughtfully hums at that and then curiously regards Supergirl.

"Hmm? Plural?" Lena states, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why do you keep saying universes? As far as I know, there is only one after all."

The conversation is still tense after the whole Lex confession, but Lena sounds genuinely curious and less tense than before. This is something that Supergirl can work with.

"There are Fifty-Two travelled universes actually." Supergirl informs Lena, whose eyes widen at that. "An infinite amount of others as well. The Multiverse Theory is indeed real."

Supergirl imagined that Lena would be completely giddy at the prospect of this revelation. In another scenario, Lena might have been. This specific night, though, was not like most nights in the fact that many things were being revealed at once from Lena's perspective.

"Two revelations in one night?" Lena states, a strange tilt to her tone. "Anything else you want to reveal to me, Supergirl?"

It is a simple question, quiet possibly perfectly innocent from Lena's perspective, but for her, Supergirl only feels a thickness form in her throat and a feeling akin of guilt eat away at her, beacuse there is many things that she wants to reveal to Lena Luthor. There are many things that she wants to share in fact, but now is not the time. Now is never the time it seems.

"I want to share many things with you, Miss Luthor," Supergirl finally replies, "but I don't think now would be the right time."

That is not the answer which Lena is looking for, but it seems to appease her. Lena picks back up her near-empty glass of scotch and finishes it off, much to Supergirl's displeasure.

"Very well." Lena sets her drink. "Let's go defeat my evil brother once and for all."

Supergirl nods and pulls out her phone. She quickly types out a message to Alex in order to let her know where she is going. Thankfully, Winn had managed to recreate the multiverse beacon given to her by Cisco, so in worst case scenario, Alex can find a way to her. Supergirl pockets her phone and sees Lena starting on another glass of scotch. She quickly pulls out her beacon-device and presses the button, an action which effectively startles Lena's attention away from her alcohol and toward the now swirling blue portal ripped open in her office.

"I prefer to fly places myself on my jet." Lena blurts out, setting down her glass for the final time. "How about you give me the address and I meet you there?"

"Neither you nor I could fly there, Lena." Supergirl replies, somewhat amused by the comment. "We're going to another Earth after all."

There is still apprehension nestled in Lena's eyes, and Supergirl knows it is all a bit overwhelming and tries her best to comfort her best friend in this moment.

"Hey." Supergirl draws close and reaches for Lena's trembling hand. "I'll keep you safe. I promise."

With another odd look in her eyes, Lena glances at her. If it was not for the way that Lena's hand tightened around hers, Supergirl would have thought it was completely the wrong thing to say. Maybe it was considering what Lena replies with.

"Don't make promises you can't keep." Lena tells her yet still moves forward toward the portal. "You'll only disappoint people in the end."

Supergirl does not have time to reply as she allows Lena to tug her forward. Here she thought that she would be the one leading Lena through the universes itself. Within a few seconds everything is lit up a bright blue color. The only thing assuring Supergirl that everything will be fine is the still tight grip that Lena has on her hand.

Maybe, just maybe, they can make it through this.

Together.

* * *

Upon stepping out of the portal, Supergirl and Lena arrive at the Star Labs warehouse where most of these crossover, team-ups take place. Before she has a chance to look around and see who is all there, Supergirl hears the voice of the only and only Sara Lance smugly calling out to her.

"Are you cheating on me, Supergirl?" Sara Lance exclaims. "I thought we really had a thing going on, you know?"

Supergirl jerks her head toward the sound of Sara's smug voice only to find an even smugger looking Sara strolling toward them. It is then that Supergirl becomes keenly aware of the fact that Lena still has a tight hold own her hand as does she as well on Lena's.

"What? No!" Supergirl sputters, jerking her hand away from Lena a bit _too_ fast. "I just- She's just a friend, Sara!"

That response only causes Sara to smirk even more as she gives Lena a one-over, eyes lingering just a bit too long for Supergirl's liken. 

"Everyone's just a friend." Sara drawls. "You've got a very good friend here, Supergirl."

"We're not friends." Lena sharply responds, startling both Supergirl and Sara. "We are just colleagues is all."

Supergirl wonders what the hell that response was about yet has no time to question it as Lena is quickly moving away from Sara and her.

"Major trouble in paradise, I reckon." Sara comments, looking somewhat guilt. "Do you think she really thinks we're dating because I can apologize?"

Supergirl does not know what Lena is thinking, which is precisely the problem in this moment and has been for the past two months.

"No." Supergirl answers. "It is something else all together. I wouldn't worry about it, though"

"Any updates on the status of Anti-Monitor?" Supergirl asks Sara. "Sure you guys don't need my help?

"We're handling it so far." Sara tells her, dismissively waving her hand. "We've only nearly died two times, but if we need your help, we'll let you know."

Sara gives her a light slap on the back and moves on. With that, Supergirl heads over to where Lena has found herself. Her best friend is already making the rounds with her super-hero friends. Everyone is hear it seems, needing to recoup. The introductions are shortened to the brief and proudly coined nicknames of Team Arrow, Team Flash, and the Legends.

Barry sees her and nearly blurts out.

"Hey, K-" Barry stops himself, obviously remembering what Supergirl told him to inform everyone of when she mentioned bringing Lena along. "I mean, uh, Supergirl! I was just telling Lena about you guys heading across the property and over to Star Labs. I told her that you guys can have all the access necessary to stop Lex."

"He did," Lena replies, formal as ever, "and thank you, Mr. Allen. Supergirl and I will be on our way, and if any of you need some help with your Crisis, let me know."

"Will do!" Barry exclaims. "Hopefully we won't though!"

With that, Lena moves away and toward the wide open exit of the warehouse. Supergirl lags behind, wanting to assure that Barry informed everyone about keeping her real name off their lips.

"Hey, Barry?" Supergirl brings up. "You did tell everyone _not_ to say my real name. Right?"

"I did." Barry assures her, looking a bit sheepish at his own near-slip. "Sorry about nearly doing so though, but don't worry. I'll tell everyone once more to be sure, okay?"

"Good." Supergirl exhales, feeling slightly less anxious. "I'll be off then."

Supergirl speeds off at that to catch up with Lena, who is already outside the warehouse. Lena is only mildly startled at her sudden appearance, and Supergirl considers that progress in a way.

"So," Supergirl drawls as they head toward the main Star Labs building. "I'll lead you to the main area where we can work since I know the way."

Lena purses her lips and nods. Not sure how to bring up this sudden cold attitude, Supergirl awkwardly carries on beside her.

"So?" Lena breaks the nearly unbearable silence. "You and that one woman from before seemed close? Did you used to, you know, go with one another?"

"What?" Supergirl exclaims, surprised that _that_ is what Lena wants to speak about all of a sudden. "No, no! Sara just like to mess with people! Like the time she messed with a Queen and the Salem witches and what-not. She just does that sometimes, but she is actually in a committed relationship now, so no more messing around."

The answer is cringe-worthy at best and a bit confusing, and Supergirl must not have done a good job at answer seeing as Lena once more presses the non-existent notion of Sara and her being a _thing_.

"She never messed with you though?" Lena presses once more "Right?"

"No!" Supergirl states too loudly. "Of course not!"

"Okay." Lena responds, sounding a bit too relieved as well. "That's good."

Something in the way she says it rubs Supergirl wrong. Maybe it is from the way that Lena has been impersonal as hell with both her personas lately or maybe it is from something else altogether, either way it does not sit well with Supergirl.

"It would be okay even if we did mess with each." Supergirl declares. "You know that, right?"

"Of course." Lena responds, somewhat offended at the implications of that sentence. " _That_ isn't it all. I'm just- I'm just high-strung from this whole Lex thing is all." 

The thump of Lena's heartbeat tells a different story, but Supergirl decides to accept the answer instead of pushing it even further. There are bigger concerns at the moment than their own tentative friendship, or rather colleague-ship as Lena so _delicately_ put it earlier, and just like that, Supergirl and Lena become solely focuses on those big concerns whose names all start with Lex Luthor.

An hour is spent in the Star Labs office. It is mostly spent with Lena taking control of the situation and doing everything she can to find Lex. She uses all the information which Barry gave her on him and his activities on this Earth. The information was not much to begin with though, and Lena comes up short. She cannot even manage to triangulate a location of Lex's random appearances. Supergirl attempts to help her, but Lena merely brushes off her offers up help. With each passing minute, Supergirl also grows more concerned as she follows the current news updates on Anti-Monitor versus the other heroes. It appears that things are not looking good on both fronts.

"Dammit!" Lena finally exclaims. "Nothing is working!"

The frustrated shout which is accompanied by a loud fist bang on the desk draws Supergirl's attention away from the computer that she had been looking up news on. Supergirl shuts the laptop and makes her way over to Lena.

"Don't worry." Supergirl sits down next to Lena and tries to comfort her. "We will get him, okay?"

"Don't worry?" Lena scoffs, turning away from Supergirl. "Of course I'm worried! How could I not be worried! My murderous brother is out there somewhere and trying to get us! God! It isn't like you could understand, you know? The Girl of Steel doesn't have to worry about regular people things, right?"

Supergirl clenches her fist at that barely veiled insult. It reminds her of the time that Lena accused Supergirl of having a "god complex" after their heated argument over Lena creating kryptonite. It acts as the final straw on the camel's back, and Supergirl is unable to hold her tongue any longer.

"Why are you being this way?" Supergirl asks, her voice wavering slightly with anger. "I mean, Rao! Did I do something? Is that why you're being so- so-"

"So what?" Lena narrows her eyes, obviously expecting something offensive. "So like what?

"I just thought that bygones were bygones." Supergirl truthfully confesses. "I thought we had an understanding with one another, that we would communicate better or something. Something more than this."

"I'm not the one with communication problems." Lena heatedly replies. "You have that covered for the both of us."

Had it not been for the ding notification sound from the computer, Supergirl is certain that whatever came out of her mouth next would have lead to a full-blown fight. The dinging notification, however, is enough to draw both of their attention away from their exchanged heated words. The screen "one new message". After seeing that, Lena spares a glance at Supergirl. It is as if Lena wants to finish their heated conversation, but Lena instead settles on focusing solely on the mysterious message.

Lena then opens the message. It is anonymous, though they both know who it is from. It reads:

" _It eluded us then, but that's no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther._ "

"It has to be from Lex seeing as it is so _predictable_." Lena notes with disdain. "Of course he would quote Gatsby. He was always such a literary guy, and those are the types of guys who are just so full of themselves. God, I don't know why Lex just loves to taunt me with boring old literature."

Supergirl pays no mind to Lena's obvious disdain for her brother and his methods of madness, because in that moment, Supergirl feels her throat constrict at the painfully obvious fact that it is actually _her_ who Lex is taunting. Provoked by that specific quote, Supergirl finds herself once more lost in a memory of her time with Lex Luthor.

* * *

_"Why are you still rereading that book?" Lex asks her when he happens upon her reading The Great Gatsby again in her cell. "I already told you what it is really about, so why are reading it once more?"_

_"I just-" She tries to explain herself. "I just like it is all!"_

_"What do you like about it?" Lex asks, voice hinging on mocking. She hates moments like this because she knows it only leads to him being angry with her - or worse, disappointed. "Do you like the language because it's lush as you once described it? Or do you like the romance? That's it, isn't it?"_

_"I just like it is all, Alex!" She lies, not wanting to admit that he is right while also wanting to keep that tidbit to herself. "That is all, okay?"_

_However, Lex always knows what she is truly feeling and what she is truly thinking. He follows her quick glance toward the wall of her cell where all her precious photos are. His eyes land on the photo which Linda is specifically looking at. It is the photo of Lena which he had given her early that day._

_"Do you think you'll have yourself a Daisy or something?" Lex snaps as he plucks the photo of Lena off the wall. "Daisy was vapid, and so is Lena! Don't fool yourself otherwise just because you met Lena once! If you do, then you really are just a fool like Gatsby!"_

_In one quick and jerking motion, Lex rips the photo in half and tosses it back at Linda. Tears sting at her eyes, and she clenches her fist into type balls. She wants to fight him for doing that to her photo, but no matter how angry she gets, Linda could never bring herself to hurt "her Alex". Not intentionally at least. Instead, Linda simply waits until Lex is gone to pick back up the ripped photo of Lena Luthor._

_She carefully tapes it back together and places it under her pillow, as if to protect it from Lex's anger._

* * *

Supergirl feels tears sting at hers eyes upon that memory. She quickly swipes them away before Lena can notices and clears her throat before speaking.

"It isn't a message for you to decode." Supergirl pipes up to Lena. "It is a message for me to decode."

Lena turns away from computer and toward Supergirl upon that statement. Her expression is perplexed, and Supergirl knows that is probably because she is used to Lex sending clues and messages like thisjust to specifically torture _her_.

"What?" Lena asks. "What do you mean?"

It is one of the few things in the past month that Supergirl has been unable to confess. She told the truth about Red Daughter becoming a part of her to the DEO, about how her powers had become more heightened and strengthened after that as they have remained. However, Supergirl could never find the words to describe the other _things_ which came from Red Daughter merging with her.

If one person in the world understands what it is like to be hurt by someone as cunning and cold and calculating as Lex Luthor, though, it is indeed his sister Lena Luthor. It is with that painful realization that Supergirl finds the strength to verbalize this hidden truth of hers.

"When Red Daughter died in my arms, I didn't just become more powerful." Supergirl confesses. "She became a part of me. In a way, she was _always_ a part of me but- but I also remembered what it was like to be her, and I remember what Lex did to her, and it feels like he did it to _me_."

Supergirl carefully watches Lena upon voicing that confession. Her expressions more into one of shock and then disgust, the type of disgust which Supergirl herself feels when thinking about Lex's cruel actions. However, Lena does not push any further though Supergirl can tell she obviously wants more answers than that. It is a bit of a relief for Supergirl, though, that Lena does not push her any further than her own explanation. She is not sure she could handle explain just how confusing and painful Red Daughter's memories have been for her.

"So why _The Great Gatsby_?" Lena questions. "Was it important to Red Daughter?"

"It was the first book he gave her." Supergirl explains. "She thought it was beautiful. The language, the romance. She loved it."

"And?" Lena prods, looking a clue in that. "And what then?

"And what then?" Supergirl asks, scoffing more to herself. "Lex then told her it was simply a book that showed capitalism was evil and that she should not enjoy it! Lex said I should hate it the way that I should hate America since they hurt people, but it was him who- who-"

Supergirl suddenly stops speaking. She feels herself shaky after that outburst. It does not go unnoticed by her, and maybe even Lena, that she had slipped into a first person pronoun during that outburst. Maybe it was a part Red Daughter still within that caused it. Supergirl does not have time to focus on this, because what is more important is stopping Lex Luthor once and for all. However, when she looks back at her best friend, Supergirl finds Lena looking at her with soft expression.

"God." Lena finally murmurs. "Like I said, literary guys are _so full_ of themselves. So, what does the quote mean then? He obviously wants us to find him, but how does this help us do so?"

"Well," Supergirl looks back at the quote still on the screen, "Lex eludes us. No matter how hard we try, it seems we can never defeat him, but the green light, it-"

It hits her all at once what Lex is alluding to. It causes her to stop in mid-sentence as Supergirl remembers a memory which actually helps her more than pains her.

* * *

_Linda once more reads "The Great Gatsby" despite the outburst from Lex. She flips to her favorite page where her favorite quote is printed._ _"It eluded us then, but that's no matter— tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther." Linda smiles as she glances over at the photo of Lena on her wall. The color of her green eyes are what Linda imagines that green light on the other side of the water described in the book to look like. Her eyes are not like the color of the green kryptonite from the dirty Americans. It is not like the green kryptonite which once filled the air and set her body on fire._

_Lena's green eyes light everything up in a different way. It also burns her in a different way, one she cannot quite remember but can just nearly place and-_

* * *

The memory is not a pleasant one at all, considering how Red Daughter was completely anxious at the prospect of Lex once more finding her with _The Great Gatsby_. It does however cause Supergirl to think up a clue which just might help them defeat Lex once more.

"He wants me to find the green light, Lena!" Supergirl blurts out. "Search for green kryptonite signatures in the city!"

Lena quickly inputs the signature for kryptonite into the scanner of Star Labs, and Supergirl tries not to think about how Lena simply knows the signature of kryptonite of the top of her head. Supergirl instead awaits a response from the scanner and hopes like hell that something is found, and _something_ is found.

"There." Lena breathes out, staring at the location on the screen with a hint of admiration. "You did it. You found him."

The location is closer than Supergirl imagined, but she should have known Lex would take pleasure in being so close without them knowing. Despite the clue being easy to figure out, Supergirl knows that actually defeating Lex will not be as easy. She spares a glance at Lena, who seems to be gathering her belongings and preparing to face off against her brother again. She knows that Lena is more than capable of fighting her brother, but this time feels different. There is no game of cat-and-mouse this time, not like before when he sent the whole nation into chaos just to defeat the kryptonian race.

Lex is inviting them right into his trap _this time_. His desire for vengeance is seemingly overriding his more logical planning side. His lack of planning might be an advantage for Supergirl and Lena, but it might also make him more dangerous than ever before.

That is enough for Supergirl to decide that she must face off against Lex Luthor alone.

"It should take me less than five minutes to fly there." Supergirl stands up while picking up a comm off the computer desk. "You stay here and listen in on us, Lena. Call for back up if I need it."

Lena's selflessness is one of her more admirable traits. Her willingness to help those in need and stop those who are hurting others, even at the expense of herself, is nothing short of heroic, and Supergirl knows just how far Lena is willing to go to stop Lex. If there is any way to prevent it from going that far, though, Supergirl is take it even if her best friend does not want to take it, and as expected, Lena pushes against the idea of Supergirl going after Lex alone.

"Excuse me!" Lex proclaims. "I'm not just going to stay here and wait! He's after both of us!"

"Exactly!" Supergirl responds as if that further proves her point. "So there is no reason he should have us both!"

"But-"

"It is going to be a trap, Lena." Supergirl states the obvious, hoping to make Lena understand. "I have the other suit you made with me. I may stand a chance. I might even outsmart him, but if I don't, I need someone I trust to get me help and save me, and that person is you."

That statement alone causes a pause for Lena, and Supergirl takes it as a good sign that maybe Lena understands how important it is for her to stay behind. 

"Do you really trust me?" Lena ends up asking. "Do you really, Supergirl?"

There is an odd tilt to her tone as she asks that question, and something akin to disbelief in Lena's eyes. Supergirl wonders once more what it is that has Lena acting this way and what it is that has her questioning the trust that they managed to rebuild with one another.

"Of course I do." Supergirl sincerely responds. "I trust you with my life."

Lena regards her for a moment, and Supergirl hopes that maybe Lena will believe her, but even if she does not believe her, then maybe Lena will at least allow her to go off alone.

"Okay." Lena sighs after a long moment. "I'll wait here and listen out for you, but I want to look him in the eye before this is all over. Promise me that, Supergirl."

"I promise." Supergirl swears. "I'll make sure of it."

Supergirl then places a hand upon her crest. She taps it, and just like that, the super-suit that Lena created begins to form over her regular suit. The helmet is the last part to lock into place, and Supergirl is well aware that Lena cannot see her through the tinted visor. Nevertheless, Supergirl conveys not only with her tone but also with a genuine expression just how much she wants only for Lena to be safe. 

"Stay safe." Supergirl states. "I can't lose you, too."

Lena's eyes widen up hearing that, but there is no time for Supergirl to waste.

With a gust of wind filling room at the Star Labs, Supergirl is gone just like that.

Off to defeat Lex Luthor once and for all. 

* * *

Supergirl arrives at the location that Lena sent to her suit location systems. It is a warehouse, discreet and abandoned. She attempts to scan the building yet is unable to see through any of the walls. It appears that the walls are not made of lead but rather the paint has lead in it.

"I don't have a visual." Supergirl tells Lena. "It seems like the paint on the building is made from lead."

" _It appears that the warehouse was shut down in 1920s._ " Lena informs her after a moment, obviously having searched the location. " _Lead paint was common back then. Just stay alert, okay?_ "

Supergirl takes heed of that warning and finally enters the warehouse. The warehouse is big but not spacious. She finds herself walking through what feels like a maze of various rooms and hallways, and after nearly a minute of finding absolutely nothing, a loud and sharp noise sounds throughout the building. It seems pinpointed, like it specifically targeting her super-hearing.

The painful noise finally ceases.

Supergirl then hears _him_.

" _Come to me, Supergirl._ " Lex's voice calls out to her. " _Let us end this once and for all._ "

Supergirl clenches her fist and speeds toward his voice. Within a moment, Supergirl is standing in a room somewhere within the warehouse, and it is Lex Luthor who awaits her in the room and who is sitting in a newly designed super-suit. He looks about the same as he did when she last saw him on his final day, or rather what she believed was his final day.

"You came," Lex comments before narrowing his gaze upon her, "and of course you came in that ridiculous power-rangers looking suit my sister made you."

"I did." Supergirl shoots back. "I will always come to stop you, and I am prepared to stop you again!"

"Hmm?" Lex stands up and prowls throughout the room as if circling an unaware prey. "I must say. I am glad you figure out my quote. I had a hunch that you would remember, and do you? Do you remember?"

His question strikes a chord within Supergirl, and she wonders just how it is that Lex has managed to come to this conclusion - a correct conclusion at that seeing as Supergirl remembers everything. He awaits an answer, and the gleam in his gaze is enough to make her own gaze _nearly_ light up. She deeply breathes in and out and finally responds.

"I don't." Supergirl lies, thickly swallowing as memories come back to her again. "I don't remember _anything_."

Lex stares at her for a moment. His eyes widen and then, _then_ a smirk graces his lips. His eyes dart down, giving Supergirl a one over like he just found some new toy to mess around with.

"You're lying." Lex slowly drawls, satisfied as ever. "You do remember. You remember our time together, don't you? Our chess matches and our little talks. You also remember the books, don't you? Or how about the times when you misbehaved? Had to lock you away under red sun lamps in order to break you back in? You always were _so_ claustrophobic during those incidents, but you knew it was for the best. You knew I only wanted you to be better, or so you believed."

Her hands clench into tight balled-fists, and Supergirl sharply inhales, because she does remember. She remembers everything, and even if it was not really her in that room, trapped and afraid and desperately wanting to be better, it still felt like _her_. Regardless, it does not matter if it was not actually her. What matters is that Lex Luthor is willing and has already done such a thing to anyone at all.

Once more, now as he breathes and lives just as clearly as she does, Lex _can_ and _will_ do it anything to anyone again.

"Don't!" Supergirl finally shouts. "Don't talk about what you did to us!"

" _Supergirl._ " Lena's calming voice sounds throughout her comms. " _Don't listen to him. Don't let him get you riled up, okay?_ "

Her best friend's calming words help Supergirl calm down, but it only last for a few moments until Lex speaks again.

"Ah, Lena!" Lex suddenly exclaims and surprises both Supergirl and Lena, the latter suddenly letting out a light gasp through the comms. "Yes, yes. My newly designed suit can tap your connection. I'm very glad you can listen to this. It makes it all the more satisfying."

" _Your theatrics bore me, brother._ " Lena responds over the tapped comms. " _Just tell us what you want already, and let us ends this._ "

"Lena!" Lex tsks, his eyes narrowing upon Supergirl. "I don't want to fight either of you. I simply want to _end_ you instead."

Lex raises up his arm. His new suit begins to reveal a gun component forming off his palm. It glows green, and Supergirl realizes that it is kryptonite. With just the right movement, Supergirl can dodge it and prevent any blast damage from breaking through her safety suit. However, the blast is not like before. It is not contained and pin-pointed to precision. The blast is everywhere and is in gas form. It surrounds Supergirl, who had already moved a few few out of the way yet is still caught in its range.

It clouds her line of vision just long enough to catch her off-guard, and then, Supergirl hears something shatter. It is like a small projectile smashing against her visor, and the glass visor of the helmet shatters. Jagged pieces fall to the ground, but Supergirl pays no mind to that. She could not pay mind to it if she even tried, because as soon as the suit is breached, her whole body feels like it has been lit on fire.

"It took a bit of figuring out," Lex directly speaks to Lena over the comms, "but I finally worked out the mechanics of that dammed suit you made her. The glass may be strong but not strong enough. Your inventions were always so predictable, sister."

It feels like something is searing her body, like nails scratching against her eardrums and poison in her bloodstream. It burns and burns, and it feels so much more different than any kryptonite she has experienced before. Her vision blurs and glazes. She feels sick to her stomach, and everything simply feels _green_.

"Do you feel it?" Lex gleefully ponders. "I made it especially for you. Seeing as you are stronger now, it was only suiting to make the kryptonite stronger as well."

How does he know, Supergirl wonders once more as she thinks over his statement, how does he know that she is still stronger? There is no time to think on that now, not when she is collapsed helpless on the floor. Instead, Supergirl uses her last bit of strength to call out to Lena.

"Lena." Supergirl gasps. "I can't- I can't breath."

" _I'm coming!_ " Lena cries out over the comms. " _I'm getting help, and I'm coming! Don't wor-_ "

The comms go dead. Only white noise can be found in its place. Her ears are ringing so loudly, though, and Supergirl cannot be certain whether or not the comms are still ON or if she simply cannot properly hear them. Through her green-tinted and blurred vision, Supergirl can make out metal shoes on the ground in front of her. She can just barely make out his face as Lex tugs her upwards by the nape of her neck.

"Does it burn?" She can just faintly make out his question over the ringing. "Don't worry. It will burn worse once I'm finished with you."

Something collides with her face, and darkness then overcomes her.

* * *

When she awakes, Supergirl no longer feels a searing sensation coursing through her body. She awakes within a room presumably still in the warehouse. Lex is in front of her. He is no longer dressed in his super-suit. A smirk forms on his face as he sees her awake, and Supergirl attempts to lunge forward. Her wrists are however restrained perfectly in place. She is restrained in a metal chair with metal cuffs on the arm rests that have managed to keep her trapped.

"Nth metal, it seems, is quite literally unbreakable." Lex comments as he watches her struggle. "Even with your newly strengthened powers, you still won't be able to break it. I made sure it was reinforced and attached to a Nth steel floor to so you wouldn't go flying off in a chair and scaring the friendly locals."

Supergirl lets out a sharp huff at his wise-crack yet still tries to pull against it. Despite her best efforts, Supergirl is stuck perfectly in place.

"I did not want you to be powerless when it happens." Lex tells her. "I want you to know you had the power to stop it but couldn't." 

That statement is enough to cause Supergirl to quit struggle, but she has no time to respond to it, because the door to the room bursts opening.

In comes none other than Lena Luthor herself and a handy handgun.

"Why!" Lex begins. "There you are and-"

He does not finish that sentence because Lena shoots him, not once but twice. He is struck in the chest, crumbles to the floor, and lands against it with a thud.

"You shot me again!" Lex growls "You killed me again!" 

"Because I won't let you hurt her, Lex." Lena declares, lowering her gun. "I don't care about anything else but _that_."

The day appears to be saved, and Supergirl finds herself breathing a sign of relief as she looks at Lex. She uses her X-ray vision to access his damage and is able to come to the conclusion that he will indeed die. Lena begins to stroll towards her in order to free her, and Supergirl's eyes widen. However, Supergirl is not looking at Lena. She is rather looking at Lex, who is bleeding out on the floor yet pulling something from his back waist band of his suit. He raises his arm up, and Supergirl realizes with horror that he is aiming his own gun at Lena, who is blissfully unaware.

"I was saving this one bullet in the chamber for Supergirl, sister!" Lex grunts. "Now it's for you!"

Lena turns around upon hearing that, and Supergirl does not have time to scream before it happens, but Lex has time to pull the trigger.

_Bang._

If not for her super-speed, Supergirl would have not seen that the bullet which strikes Lena is a kryptonite green. Upon it striking her, Lena crumbles to the floor. Her head snaps against the Nth metal floor with a sickening thud. Supergirl screams and tugs at her restraints. Her eyes fall to Lex, who now lies back on the ground as he chokes out on his own blood. Lex still manages to give her a bloody smile as he pulls out a remote from his suit pocket. He points it at her and presses the button. Her Nth metal restraints unfastened, and Lex coughs one last time before he _finally_ ceases.

However, Supergirl pays no mind to him. Her sole focus is on now Lena, who also is laid on the ground and bleeding out.

"Lena!" Supergirl kneels down next to her. "Hey, Lena! I'm here! I got you! I got you, okay!"

The kryptonite bullet burrowed deep in Lena's chest is powerful enough to cause Supergirl to feel a searing sensation, even if she had not been struck by it herself. She cannot simply gather Lena up in her arms and carry her away to safety as the kryptonite has drained her powers. She had her powers when Lena was shot and was helpless to save her, and now, Supergirl no longer has her powers to save her as well. Her super-hearing, though, is still barely working. She listens to Lena's breathing and her heartbeat. It both slows down, and terror graces her own expression as Supergirl realizes with horror what is to shortly come.

Supergirl snaps her terrified gaze down to Lena's own pained one. A cough comes from Lena only for blood to follow in return, blood which paints her lips red.

"I'm going to die." Lena breathes out. "I'm really going to die, aren't I?"

"No, no!!" Supergirl cries out. "You can't die! There are still things I want to tell you! Things I need to tell you and- and-"

Supergirl dwindles off, voice choked up by the new onslaught of tears, but Lena simply looks up at her. Her expression is no longer as guarded as it has been these past two months. Her expression is warm and understanding and-

"I know." Lena groans against the pain. Her eyes are dazed over. "I know who you are, _Kara_."

Of all the ways Kara Zor-El imagined having this conversation, she never imagined it like this. She imagined it could maybe end their friendship or that it could even be the begin of something new and better. She imagined Lena maybe having already known in order to egg on her own desperate hope of making her coming confession easier. She even imagined never telling Lena and simply continuing to live in their comfortable bubble of bliss, yet Kara Zor-El was telling the truth when she had told Lena before they left that she had wanted to share many things with her.

Kara Zor-El wanted to tell Lena things that only few people in this world know about her. She even wanted to tell her the things that no one at all knows about her. However, of all the ways she had imagined this happening, Kara Zor-El had never entertained the thought that it would happen at through a confession coming from blood stained lips.

Maybe from her own blood stained lips, in the worst scenarios, but _never_ from Lena's.

"Lena." Supergirl softly murmurs. "You know?"

"I'm going to close my eyes now." Lena slurs, eyes slowly closing shut. "Just for a moment."

"Please, please!" Supergirl begs. "Don't close your eyes! Stay with me, Lena! Stay with me!"

This is not how it was supposed to happen. It is not supposed to end like this, not on another Earth in some dingy warehouse due to the madness of Lex Luthor. The truth was suppose to come out another way, and Lena was supposed to die another way. She was supposed to die in a bed underneath warm sheets surrounded by all her loved one. She was supposed to live a safe and loving life, yet Lena coughs once more and more blood comes out,

Supergirl cannot take it anymore as she completely breaks down and pulls Lena closer.

Lena's eyes shut one last time, and Supergirl hones her hearing once more onto Lena's heart. It slows and slows like a whisper in the midst of a bang, and then _finally_.

Just silence.

Supergirl does not even register the sound of another bang sounding throughout the warehouse. She does not register a few of her superhero friends coming in the room and pulling her away from Lena. She does not register being carried away and back to safety. She does not even registers the tears streaming down her face.

All she registers is nothing. All that is left is silence.

* * *

Silence is something Kara Zor-El despises. Upon arriving on Earth, noises became overwhelming to her, but nothing was more overwhelming than the sound of silence. On Earth, there was never silence. She could hear everything at once or simply hear one thing at a time. It was nothing like the time spent in the cold void of space where time ceases to exist, but silence overwhelms her once more.

The cold void where Lena Luthor once lived and breathed lays in the medical room of Star Labs, and the heartbeat that once thumped in her chest is no more.

It is simply silent.

Inbetween the moments of silence, the other heroes come and go. They all visit for a moment and pay their condolences and offer sympathetic words before scurrying off to plan another attack against the Anti-Monitor. None of their words are what Kara Zor-El wants to hear. She does not want to hear their understanding voices, not when she failed to save a loved one when it counted.

Supergirl failed to do so with her powers now more heightened. Evolved is the word that Red Daughter used to describe the powers. Her heat vision now burned purple, hotter than ever, and her strength was more intense. She could hear everything, but only silence was the response to the one thing she wanted to hear the most. It did not matter if she was more evolved and more powerful, because she failed.

Supergirl failed Lena Luthor.

A super-suited Barry enters the room to offer his own condolences as well. Her eyes wander down to his suit's emblem, the iconic lightening crest. It is suit that lightening symbolizes the fastest man alive, a man who could turn back time just by running fast enough.

Supergirl could never fly fast enough to turn back the hands of time, not without the help of a Legion ring.

Yet.

Supergirl was more evolved and more powerful now.

"Kara." Barry quietly speaks. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"They call us heroes because we save people." Supergirl replies after a long moment. "When she needed me, though, I couldn't save her."

"Kara." Barry sadly responds. "It wasn't your fault."

"It was," Supergirl declares, unwavering in her assertion, "but I can fix it! I can save her, Barry!"

"Kara?" Barry drawls, voice thick with confusion. "What do you mean?"

It is dangerous and reckless, and the consequences from the last time she turned back time were catastrophic. It nearly destroyed everything, but one glance at her cold and deceased best friend on the medical table is what makes up her mind to say consequences be dammed, because Kara Zor-El could never imagine a world where saving Lena Luthor was the wrong decision.

Not now and not ever.

"I'm not the same person I was the last time you saw me." Kara confesses, voice cracking as every fiber of being speeds up. "This time, I can turn back the hands of time on _my own_."

A sonic boom sounds out as she moves forward and away from Star Labs. It sounds like thunder, and just like with thunder, lightening chases after her. Kara can hear it over the sound of the wind blowing by her. She can hear the sizzling of his lightening chasing after as the Flash attempts to catch up. His confusion is obviously long gone now and is replaced with a determined mindset of stopping Supergirl.

Nothing can stop her now though. 

"Kara! Don't do this!" The Flash screams over the wind. "You don't know what will happen! It could be a mistake!"

"No!" Supergirl shouts back, even though she is certain he can no longer hear her over the wind himself. "Saving her could _never_ be a mistake!"

All it takes is that sentence, that one truth that she has left, in order to give her the final push and the final bit of energy left to move forward. To move toward the past and toward a better future. The Girl of Steel shoots forward in the air and leaves the Flash behind. The world seems to slow down as she moves forward. Her surrounds morph into a blue swirling light, but her mind is focused solely on Lena Luthor.

Kara Zor-El thinks back on all the moments they had together. She thinks back on a first meeting that ended with a hopeful beginning. She thinks back on a tentative friendship which became something so much more. She thinks back on the battles that they fought together and even on the times in which they fought with one another. She thinks of all the things she never got to say and all the things she wish she could have said. None of it would matter if she could not change this one moment.

None of it would matter if she could not save Lena this time.

At the end of the swirling light, Supergirl can see Lex pull up that dammed gun again and speak those dammed words. She cannot bear for it to happen again, so the final push sends her shooting forward and out of the light. Just in time for the gun to fire and the bullet to shoot out. The kryptonite bullet never pierces Lena Luthor's skin though. She never crumbles against the Nth metal floor and never bleeds out in the arms of Kara Zor-El. She never confesses the words that Supergirl herself could never bring herself to say.

Most of all, Lena Luthor never dies.

It is Supergirl this time whose skin is pierced by a kryptonite bullet. This time it is her who crumbles against the Nth metal floor, and it is her who bleeds out in the arms of Lena Luthor.

Kara Zor-El was the one who held Lena in her dying arms in another timeline. How the tables have turned now, but Supergirl is more than okay with this ending, because she did what she failed to do last time.

Supergirl saved Lena.

No amount of pain and no amount of fear from dying could make her take it back. Not even the confused teary-eyed expression from Lena looming over her could make her take it back, because Lena was now alive to be able to cry, and that is all that mattered.

"I don't understand!" Lena confesses, confusion gracing her expression. "How are you here? Where did you come from?"

"I came back to save you." Supergirl murmurs, vision blurring. "I already told you. I couldn't lose you too."

Everything begins to fade after that.

She hears confused shouting from her past self.

She hears Lex coughing on his own blood.

Is that actually her coughing because it tastes like metal in her mouth?

She can also hear Lena crying over her, but once more, none of it matters.

That loss from a timeline now changed no longer matters.

Lena is safe and alive.

Supergirl kept her promise.

Now Kara Zor-El joins Rao in his light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to write a long chapter, because the season four finale destroyed my heart yet somehow left me hopeful as well. All of this including the fact that my next fic was promised to be Injustice!Supergirl style.
> 
> For those of you who were waiting on the Injustice fic, I put my reasons for not yet writing it at the top Author Note. It is going to be wrote. I promise, but I simply have not planned it out well enough for me to feel comfortable writing it and posting it. Also, it was my way of making a Supergirl!Death in Crisis without having to follow all the way through since it is Future!Supergirl dying in this fic and not Present!Supergirl.
> 
> Anyway, hope there were not too many errors which could have made this fic unbearable. If there is something too major, let me know below. I plan on skimming over a few more times in the next week to catch other errors, so that too.
> 
> CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM IS WELCOMED. KUDOS ARE GOOD. COMMENTS ARE THE BEST.
> 
> **EDIT: THIS WILL BE A ONE SHOT INSTEAD OF THREE-SHOT LIKE PROMISED AS I DO NOT KNOW WHERE ELSE TO GO WITH THIS.**


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